Directors Larry and Andy Wachowski have said in their few interviews that they are big fans of Japanese animation (or, "Anime"). Watching "The Matrix", one can sense the influences from Anime style. Given the fact that the story of "The Matrix: Reloaded" was too big to tell in one nearly 150-minute movie, elements of the story are being told both in the video game "Enter the Matrix" and this set of animated features, the "Animatrix".

Given their desire to expand the side and back-stories, the Wachowski brothers had several famed animation directors go to work on 9 short films that further enrich the "Matrix" tale. The first feature is the "Final Flight of the Osiris", a fully CGI tale constructed by some of the same artists who were involved with "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within". However, as remarkable as "Final Fantasy" was, the animation technology seems to have improved even further, as the kind of detail present here is extraordinary. Without giving anything away, the tale involves the crew of the Osiris trying to get a warning to Zion. It's interesting to see how this story ties into the first level of the video game.

"The Second Resistance: Parts I and II" are dark and fascinating shorts that are essential to the understanding of the "Matrix" story. Both stories cover how the machines developed under the eye of man and how they eventually rose up and defeated mankind. As with the rest of the shorts, the imagery throughout these stories is dark, haunting and remarkably imaginative. Sound designer Dane Davis ("The Matrix", "The Matrix: Reloaded") has a voice cameo. Directors Larry and Andy Wachowski were also responsible for the writing of these first three segments, which deal the closest with the stories of the two films.

Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves also offer voice cameos in "Kid's Story", a tale of a young student who finds out the truth, and must run from agents. "Program" features a samurai battle between a male and female warrior, who debate existence while waging a tense battle. "World Record", a rather odd feature, involves a track star whose extraordinary talent and drive leads him to find out about the existence of the Matrix. "Beyond" focuses on a young woman who stumbles upon an abandoned building full of children with strange powers while she was searching for her lost cat. "A Detective Story" is a noir-ish piece that has an investigator trying to track down Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss. The piece has a fascinating black-and-white look. Finally, "Matriculated" has members of the human resistance attempting to reprogram a machine to fight on their side.

The shorts are: Final Flight of the Osiris, The Second Renaissance Part 1, The Second Renaissance Part 2, Kid's Story, Program, World Record, Beyond, Detective Story and Matriculated.